


Champion’s childhood friend

by Roxynme



Category: Pokemon - Fandom
Genre: Completed, Confession, F/M, Fluff, Gloria confesses, Gloria only just realised, Happy Ending, Hop is oblivious, Innocence, Innocent, Pokemon, Pure, Reader confesses, Some angst, They’re still kids, Time Passing, Young Love, applin, but has the same feelings, kind of cringe, new champion, proposal, time skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22080301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxynme/pseuds/Roxynme
Summary: Hop has always been by your side.  And in your final battle, you decide you always want to be by his.-A three part mini story where Gloria/reader likes Hop and somewhat confesses.
Relationships: Gloria/Hop, reader/Hop
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

Admitting defeat is never easy. You've learnt that firsthand, especially when you were first starting out on your journey. But the thing is, you never gave up. You always came back, bounced back, right where you belonged. On the course for championship.

Your friend however... Suffered defeats he simply couldn't overlook.

"Another... Critical hit?!" Hop exclaims, rearing back in shock.

You smile with your eyes closed, "C'mon Hop, you should be expect'n this by now, mate!"

"Y-yeah..." He calls back his pokemon that just fainted, sending out the final one in his party, "I should've..."

Your expression softens as you switch out your pokemon, "Don't be too hard on yourself,"

"Wh-what?!" He chuckles, "I'm not being harsh on myself! Not at all!"

You sigh and call for your pokemon to use a move, knocking out Hop's final pokemon in one hit. You recall your pokemon, sliding the pokeball into your bag and dusting yourself off from the various objects flung on you from the battle.

Hop remains silent, but calls back his pokemon. He stares at the ground, and you see him bite his lip and start shaking, just the slightest. Then he looks up quickly, eyes sparkling and a radiant smile on his face.

"You really are strong, (Name)!" He rubs the back of his neck with his eyes closed, the smile falling into a disheartened grin.

You can tell he's beating himself up over his loss. Again. He may be smiling on the outside, but you know that he's hurting inside. You're so sick of seeing him like this; sad, disappointed and frustrated.

And that's when you decide that you always want to protect him, not that he isn't capable of that on his own. But you just want to be there to... support him. Direct him when times get tough. And you can't exactly do that if you're off being champion.

You can't leave him. You just can't.

Your heart breaks in two pieces in that second. One wanting to follow your dreams of being the champion of Galar. The other just... wants Hop. Wants him to be happy. Wants to see his smile. Him smiling at you.

You wring your hands, "Hop... I don't want us to go seperate ways,"

"Huh? What do you mean?" He blinks in confusion, "We ain't going seperate ways?"

"No! I-i mean..." You sigh, "I'm the new champion and that means I'll be leaving my home behind, leaving you behind. And..." You shake your head, "I'm certain I don't want that,"

"What're you saying?!" Hop exclaims, "Being champion was your dream! Our dream!"

"But it wasn't!" You fling out your arms in an exaggerated gesture, "I never wanted to be champion! You did! I just got caught up in your dreams, tagged along for the ride and somehow... somehow it became my dream too, through you,"

"And I don't want to leave behind the person who helped me find my way," You finish, finding yourself twirling a strand of hair with your finger.

"What. D'you mean to say ya' don't want to be champion?" Hop cringes, "After all that?"

"No! I do want to be champion, but only after you kept going on about it!" You find yourself laughing quietly, "You never shut up about your big bro and how un-defeat-able he was!"

"Hey! I did not talk about him all the time!" Hop refutes, but it makes you laugh all the more so.

"B-but yo... you did!" You say in between laughs, trying to catch a breath.

Hop looks away from you, fighting a growing smile, "D-didn't!"

"Oh, you so did," You release one final laugh and wipe away the tears from your eyed, planting your hands on your hips, "The only reason I'm where I am today is because of you, and it wouldn't feel right not giving you the credit you deserve!"

You smile widely at him, then point with one hand at the sky and lowering it to him, "You are the one who got me here, and i'm gonna be the one to stay by your side!"

"Uh, that's fine and all but..." he rubs the back of his neck and looks away, thoroughly confused, "I'm not sure what you're talkin' about..."

"Hop, We've always been best friends, i've always seen you as the closest person to me. Then we became pokemon trainers," you cross your arms, trying your best to look dramatic, "And we became rivals. Which has led me to the conclusion that I... I uh,"

You flounder for words, suddenly at a loss now that the actual confession part has come up. You were fine before, so why are you flustered now of all times! When you started this whole speech it was always going to get to this point, always!

So why is it... so hard to say?

"I um..." Your eyes light up as something you heard comes to mind.

You turn away from Hop, sorting through your bag as Hop awkwardly asks what you're doing. You end up grinning wildly as you find the object of your search.

You bring out a pokeball, holding it in your hands tightly before pressing it to your heart quickly. Then you turn back to Hop, closing the distance between you and holding out the ball to him.

He looks at your face as your heart hammers against your chest. Then he looks at the ball.

_Now or never._

You open the pokeball and shut your eyes tightly as the pokemon appears in your arms.

_Oh, I regret this. I regret this so much. I wish I didn't do this._

_Why did I do this?!_

"An... Applin?" Hop's curious voice pulls your attention away from your thoughts.

"Yep!" You confirm, eyes still shut.

"I..." Hop begins, connecting the dots.

.

.

.

"I don't understand?"

_oh_.


	2. |2|Conquer|2|

**unedited**

_There's no way. There's no way. There's no way._

_There is **no** way. There is no way he-_

_He can't be serious. Cannot cannot cannot!_

You examine your friends face, looking for any trace of joking and mischief. But it's full of simple confusion. You bite your lip and slap yourself mentally.

_He hasn't heard. He doesn't know about it. But how?!_

_Doesn't everyone... know?_

You let out a small, nervous giggle, unsure of what to do in this situation. It was already bad enough when you were struggling to speak, but now things were getting out of hand, and a little weird. On both sides.

"Nice... Applin?" Hop says, basically asking if you were trying to show it off.

You can almost hear his thoughts questioning what the Leon you're meaning by this. You cringe away from him, imaging how the image of you must be declining in Hop's mind. From friend to rival to... this. The weird girl showing off her frankly completely normal Pokemon.

"You don't know?" You blurt, unable to let all your hard work (your long speech) goto waste.

"I don't know...?" Hop throws back the question.

"You don't know." You laugh nervously again, turning away from him to collect your thoughts.

"Applin... Applin..." You hear hop whispering under his breath, obviously trying to work out what your deal is.

It makes you cringe all the more, but also makes you happy that he's considering you getting hurt by a quick dismissal.

"W-well neverm-" You begin as Hop cuts you off, beaming in joy as he figures something out.

"An Applin! If given to the one you love it is said to keep you together forever!" He's so happy with his detective skills, but you can't praise him as you stand there frozen.

_He's figured it out, but has he... y'know... **figured** it out._

"W-wait..." Hop's posture tenses, and you whirl around to face him.

"I-it's nothing, okay?! I just caught a Applin and wanted to show it to you!" You ramble, "They're a pretty cool pokemon, don't'cha think?! I really like them, haha! And that saying about them, wow, that's amazing! Maybe one day i'll confess to someone like that! Nah I'm way too nervous to do that, but I am the champion I guess! If I've managed to do that then I can do anything! Wait, no, that sounds really bad..."

"Uh... um, (Name)," Hop has an indescribable expression on his face as you meet his eyes, "Is... is this a confession?"

"WhaaAt?!" Your voice is an octave higher than normal and all your gestures exaggerated, "What made you think that?"

"...Is it?"

You bite your lip, deciding not to talk anymore. Everything that could've gone wrong has happened. This was the worst confession in confession history. You'll go down in history, if you ever tell anyone about this. Maybe you'll tell Sonia? Or complain to Leon about his brother?

You sigh, "Yes, it is, but I think I managed to stuff it up!" You run your hand through your hair, "Instead of just straight up tellin' you how I feel, I decide to use an Applin!" You laugh harshly, "I can be champ'n no worries but when it comes ta' feelin's then nope! I'am tha biggest failure!"

You groan, "Look'n see what a mess i'am," a harsh laugh escapes you, "How'm I suppos't be the champion?"

"Well, if battling you has taught me anything..." Hop looks slightly distraught as he speaks, "Is that you won't give up until you succeed..."

You blink slowly, a sad smile tugging at your lips.

"Even if you fail, you'll just try again. You'll come back even more prepared and stronger than before," Hop loses his worried expression, it turning into a confident one as he nods, "Thats the (Name) I know,"

"Somehow you managed to cheer me up while simultaneously changing the conversation topic," you smile at him, "Well, alright. If that's the case, could I get a do over?"

"Uh um sure, yeah, sure, go ahead," Hop's composure shakes.

"Ok!" You can't say this feels normal or that you aren't about to lose your nerve, but somehow Hop has managed to give you the confidence needed. Isn't that ironic?

"Hop, I've kinda always had a thing for you, it just took me a long time to realise," you end up smiling at him, "I'm so glad we grew up together and went on this amazing journey. I could never want a better person to spend my time with. So uh, I'd like to ask if you feel... the same way?"

Hop looks away quickly, a grin forming when he looks back.

"Well, it'd be kind of hard not to, after all we've gone through together,"

You beam at him, but then a new thought strikes you.

_Where... do we go from here?_

_We're only young._

You bite your lip, "I'm so happy! But... i'm not sure what to do now?"

Hop nods furiously, starting to laugh, "Yeah, me either, mate,"

You decide in that moment to stop worrying, just to go along with the flow. Maybe you can't do much now, but you're sure your feelings will never change.

"Okay... So, Hop, would you mind being my personal gym trainer? I'm sure we could implement it,"

"Wait till Leon gets an ear of this! Along with the gym challengers, too,"

You both smile at each other, and as you walk out of the slumbering weald you end up holding hands. Unable to wipe the pure joy off your expressions.

_._

_._

_._

_._

_Let's both do our best to never seperate!_


	3. |3|Triumph|3|

**Unedited**

“Hoppers!" You whine, draping yourself on the couch, "Stop being so strong! I haven't had a pokemon battle in ages!"

Hop laughs, rolling a pokeball around in his hand, "I can't say i'm sorry,"

You roll your eyes, ignoring the tugging at your lips as a large smile finds its way onto them. It's been a while since you confessed. _The failure confession_. It's actually been six years, can you believe it?

Shortly afterwards, you asked the officials if it were possible for Hop to be a gym trainer in your gym( _not that you spent much time there)._ Somehow you got permission, and that's how you've spent the last six years. Defeating gym challengers if they manage to get past Hop. Which is... pretty unlikely.

You've only had to battle two people in the whole six years. That's like... one every three years.

You and Hop do have pokemon battles, but just for fun. And to get the nostalgia of the old days, _before_ you had _responsibilities_. To say you miss those days is a understatement.

But you still wouldn't change one single thing.

"It's hard to believe that i've been the champion for six years now," you say, just to confirm that six years really have passed.

_It's felt like only a day._

You look at Hop out of the corner of your eye, expression softening as you look at the face of the one you love.

_But a day with you is so incredible._

_And I hope things always stay like this._

_Forever._

"Has it really been that long?" Hop says breathlessly, frozen in place as he no doubt recounts the fond times.

You find yourself reliving the same moments. Like when you told your parens you were dating, and Leon... His reaction was the best thing you could've seen. It's burnt into your memory for all of eternity, that's for sure.

Sonia had figured out about your feelings ages ago, and had been waiting to tease you both about it once the confession finally occurred. It's not like she was oblivious. But you were still frustrated that she didn't tell you that Hop felt the same way. And then flustered when she asked how it went down.

You find yourself laughing quietly. Even your fellow gym challengers heard about it. Marnie was supportive and Bede was... uh, Bede about it.

The gym leaders weren't surprised, but a little concerned about your age.

What can I say? Everyone heard about it! The paparazzi was quick onto it, you are the champion, after all!

"Do you think... anyone will beat us?" You ask, not really expecting an answer, "Will we have to leave this place?"

Hop sighs, "Well, someone will take over eventually, that's the whole point..."

"Do you... want to leave?"

Hop's full attention is on you, as you stare right back at him, "wh-"

"What do we do if we have to leave? Where do we go? Will we have to seperate? Do we have to break up?!" You bite your lip, not liking the way your breathing is slowly speeding up and your whole body has begun shaking, "I don't want that! I don-"

"Hey, hey!" Hop's face is suddenly all you can see, "Nothing is going to tear us apart, I won't allow it!"

"But what if-" you swallow harshly, throat burning as you continue to panic, "If something really bad happens?! What if we have no choice but to leave?!"

"Nothing like that is going to happen, please calm down! Everything will be fine!" Hop wraps his arms around you, forcing you to sit up and be enveloped in the hug.

You sniff, holding back tears before burrowing your face in his shoulder and hugging back tightly. You breathe in and try to calm yourself, focusing solely on the hug and nothing else.

After all, there is nothing else you care more about than Hop.

_And that will **never** change._

-

x

X

x

-

The day of your defeat wasn’t sad. Not really, anyway. When your final pokemon fainted, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath before leaning back on your heels and showing off a large smile.

You were proud of the new champion, giving them some tips before leaving the gym.

You took one last look at the gym before sliding your hand into Hop’s, lacing your fingers with his and walking away, _together_. As you would always be.

You were thankful for the change in scenery and actions, truth be told. Hop had managed to delay many gym challengers, and you only battled five your whole time as champ.

And now you were going to go, lead your life elsewhere. Maybe explore other regions? Find a house to settle down and grow old in? Train your pokemon and spend time with them while visiting your old friends? Whatever you ended up choosing to do, you’d choose it with Hop.

Your plans were put to a halt one year later, as you were watching the gym challengers grow stronger and one come out on top, managing to face off against the new champion. The champion remained undefeated, however.

But as soon as the battle was over, the champion had an announcement to make...

-

“Now the show isn’t over just yet! Because my old friend is here today, and he has an important question to ask!” The champion tells the crowd, capturing your attention as you subconsciously lea forward in your seat as you see Hop walk out onto the field.

A few knowing looks are sent your way, which you’re oblivious to as you wonder why Hop is on the field.

Hop clears his throat, “I-i... ten years ago, on this day, my friend gave me an Applin as a confession...”

_Oh, oh he’s embarrassing me, the darn nerve on him!_

You scoff, standing up from your seat and beginning to make your way onto the field to pull him away and save your dignity.

“It didn’t work out very well,” Hop laughs, “But in the end the point got across and we promised to stay together forever. And somehow... we’ve managed to do just that!”

You speed up your pace, heart drumming against your ribcage, as if trying to tell you what’s happening. But your mind pays no attention to it.

“So, (Name),”

_Blimey!_

_He’s even outin’ me by name!_

You start running, pushing past anyone in your way. Although most people do move, sensing your urgency and simply not wanting to get bowled over.

You reach the fence, hurtling yourself over it with eas-

“Will you marry me?”

You lose your grip and face plant.

_Ah, once again,_

_I’ve managed to make a fool out of myself in front of you._

“(Name)! Are you alright?!” Hop comes skidding to a halt beside you, worry written across his face as he tentatively reaches out to you once on his knees.

You laugh, “I’m better than alright!”


End file.
